The film focuses on heteronormative social structures and personal journeys of grief. It explores sexual liberation but maintains a traditional framework of interpersonal attraction.

Elise subverts traditional hierarchies by exercising immense agency and autonomy. The narrative rejects female passivity, allowing her to reclaim her identity through sexual agency.

Set in a homogenous coastal community in Quebec, the film lacks racial or ethnic plurality. It focuses on the socioeconomic realities of a working-class fishing village.

The story prioritizes a secular, existentialist perspective over religious authority. It uses moral relativism to frame unconventional choices as valid survival mechanisms.

Surrealist imagery, like fish within the body, metaphorically represents internal psychological struggles. This serves as a stylistic representation of emotional trauma rather than a direct disability study.